O beauty is within us, like a rose

[megatechbody]

WHO: Mariko + Dreamwalkers
WHERE: Dreamscapes
WHEN: The Month of July
WHAT: Mariko is dreaming, of things that were, are and could be
WARNINGS: Dream II has a linked video with canon typical violence for GiTS - guns/gunfire, realistic wounds on humanoid bodies, blood (both human and cyborg), Dream III is Mariko dreaming about her 1st AU hospital stay so cw: description of car accidents and depressive thoughts.

I. And my mistake is much too late - Dream 1: Swimming Relay

[Recolle University had always been proud of it's athletes and the swim team was no exception. Which is why the cheers of the crowd seem almost deafening as Mariko tries to stay loose. The relay's starting soon and she needs her shoulder to work overtime today, so she's stretching as the solo races continue on.]

II. But your mistake was trusting - Dream 2: The Raid

[The orders, her team chattering: it should be disorienting, the voices in her head - but all she can focus on is her goal. Neutralize the assailants who've hacked the geisha, upload the virus, track down those responsible. Male voices respond in kind to her orders, one by one and once the order is given they move.]

III. That out of grief, a goodness comes - Dream 3: Recouperation

[She feels small. Vulnerable. Anyone would, she supposes, after the wreck the doctors told her about. They said that she was a miracle, that it was so lucky that only her arm that got hurt. She doesn't feel lucky or happy to make it, no matter the brave face she gives when they come in asking all those questions.

She's just tired. Tired and lonely.]

IV. And love comes out of lusting - Dream 4: What If .....

[She and Tatsuo had gotten engaged pretty fast, after the first few years of 'will they, won't they'.
According to everyone around them, it was just So OBVIOUS how much they adored each other. The truth was they both had a lot to get over and a lot to work through, and now that the hard work is ending - it's time to be happy!

Or at least is after this conversation. Dad always liked to worry after her. Mariko's in the living room, trying not to laugh at whatever's being said on the other side of the line when the doorbell rings.]

V. Wildcard

Hit me here or on wingedbeastie

Comments

Closed to Tatsuo

[megatechbody]

It was a long time coming, but it was nice to have someone to come home to. Or at least it was in theory. She and Tatsuo knew each other like the backs of their hands - but their schedules were quite a different beast. That's why when she feels him move on this lazy morning, Mariko can't help but be a bit of a brat and try and pull him back in for a little more rest.

"Tatsuo...it's too early. Isn't it Saturday?"

Re: Closed to Tatsuo

[thisloveisjustice]

"It is Saturday," Tatsuo agrees, before his jaw stretches into a yawn. He reaches up to run fingers through his tousled hair, but makes no other move to get up. Mariko's arm is warm across his chest, and frankly he would much rather just stay in bed with her, than get up for this darn work meeting.

Technically, he could skip it. It's just a preliminary planning meeting. There will be at least two more follow-up meetings to hammer out details. Or he could just skip his usual morning routine. Skip the gym and the shower and just show up to the meeting looking like a scrub. It's not like the students will be there to see him. But why go to the trouble of skipping that and still go to the meeting? Might as well skip all of it, if he's going to skip any of it...

[megatechbody]

Mariko knows that Tatsuo wouldn't have woken up if he wasn't supposed to be doing something, but his work with teaching took up a lot of time. She would never have the gall to suggest he stop, no matter how jealously she guarded his free time - but now that they were trying to build something instead of...whatever they had been, she found herself missing him. Just a little.

"What's up?" her voice is still drowsy, a little thick with sleep as she props up on one arm.

[thisloveisjustice]

"Work meeting," Tatsuo replies, his voice apologetic. He loves his job, loves teaching the kids and seeing their eyes light up when they understand something new or are amazed by an experiment. But all the other nitpicky redtape, office politics, and general staff drama (high school never ends, kids) he could really do without. After ten years the principal trusts his judgement, but every time the school board changes, it's the same song and dance all over again.

"Drawing up the drafts for our presentation to the school board. Nothing like having people who no background in education telling you how to teach." Okay, that's not entirely fair, since there were actually a couple retired teaches on the board currently. But the rest of them... And then his phone vibrates on the nightstand. Tatsuo reaches over, reads the text, and grins. Then he holds the phone out so Mariko can read the text.

Meeting cancelled. Pipe burst above office. LMK when you can reschedule.

[megatechbody]

Mariko hums in understanding, not quite wanting to let him go. She'd seen the delight in the kids faces they few times she'd been to the school to support him. His frustration had also been plain - sometimes his job was as much about trying to get water from a rock funding wise, as it was about educating the kids. Seeing the song and dance start up again wasn't exactly looked forward to, but she knew that he considered it worth it in the end.

His grousing at the board meeting draws a chuckle that he feels, more than hears. Then the phone buzzes and she sighs. Time to get out of bed for real, at least until Tatsuo shows off the message.

"Looks like you're a free man." She pulls a little closer, now that she knows she's not distracting him. "So what are you going to do with your wide open schedule?"

[thisloveisjustice]

Tatsuo tucks his phone under his pillow so it's out of the way, then smiles at Mariko as he trails his fingers along her side.

"I've a few chores I should probably do. Unload the dishwasher, clean the bathroom, that kind of thing. ... But I think I'll just stay right here."

And he leans in to press a warm kiss to her lips.

[megatechbody]

She tries to back her smile down from wolfish as his phone disappears and she tries not laugh when his touch skims up her side. However Tatsuo has always been a little more wicked than he appears and when his lips meet hers, she can't help but react in kind.

"Bad habit, Tatsuo..." she teases, breathless between kisses.

It's short of domestic bliss, maybe, but they've chosen this together. He chooses her, for all her temper and indulgences and so she tries to do right by him. She works to be worth his patience, to let his kindness make her a little more gentle - even if it's just the two of them. She tries to smile more, to let him in a little more each day. Ten years of back and forth and it surprises her how much she wants these slow and lazy Saturdays with him. They rest and she just watches the clouds go by, listening to his heartbeat and how silly he can be.

On days like this, they don't rest and she enjoys that too; some kinds of 'do right' still come easily to her.

Weekends are made for taking time, but maybe they've taken enough. She reaches for his phone, tapping it to make the clock appear before laughing low and pleased.

"We should get up," she says through a stretch, that she's sure does nothing to convince him to agree. "before we miss lunch too."

[thisloveisjustice]

Tatsuo would argue that he has many bad habits, but wanting to spend time with her is definitely not one of them. Whether it be lazy cuddling or not so lazy not-cuddling, time spent with her is time well spent.

Indeed, Mariko stretching, all feline grace and hidden steel, does little to convince him he should get out of bed. Tatsuo snakes an arm around her waist and nuzzles her shoulder.

"We could miss lunch... but then my stomach will probably start growling at inopportune moments."

Let's face it, that's probably happened at some point.

[megatechbody]

"Tatsuo!" Mariko laughs at the way he tries to cuddle up to her, finally pushing him away lightly with a smile. "You can miss lunch, if you like. I'm going to shower and order out because I'm hungry after missing breakfast."

She's as good as her word, taking a little long under the spray because it's nice to not have to be anywhere. Wrapped in a towel, she sits back on the bed and retrieves her phone, scrolling through her FoodHub app for something that looks good. Maybe Indian? Since today seems to be about indulgences.

"I'm not sure what to get. Thoughts?"

But your mistake (?) was trusting...

[standalonehuman]

The scene is familiar to Togusa, one he hasn't seen for a while. He comes into awareness standing next to a man with a beard trying to hack into the building's communication channels (Ishikawa. He knows his name is Ishikawa now.)

The order buzzes in his head, familiar and comforting. Togusa. Go to the main courtyard and get ready to storm the place.

"Copy that." He waves Ishikawa a gesture of good luck before he starts around the building.

The riot gear fits him like a glove, hands clench around the automatic rifle, but the comforting weight of the Mateba sits at the small of his back. He's done this before, he's seen this before. Nothing to do but play his part.

[megatechbody]

And just like that the pieces are in play. Togusa acknowledges his orders (Orders? Why is she ordering?) and continues down the line.

-----.

It's her voice, she's speaking - she knows it, but she doesn't feel her throat, her mouth, her tongue. That alone should feel terrifying, but all she's interested in is the report.

I've neutralized the image curtain, but all those trees limit my firing field.

She stays, the back of the tree against her back, glancing to make sure they haven't been seen.

----.----.

[standalonehuman]

Something's off. Both of those last two names blur in Togusa's ears. And they shouldn't. Pazu. He knows one of those last two is Pazu. Why couldn't he hear it? It's always this frustrating half-information that Togusa never has the time to examine.

Ready when you are.

Togusa recovers from his startled stumble, and returns to booking it around the side of the building to get into his new position. Fall into the rhythm. The others are counting on you. His back hits the side wall, and he pauses, the sitrep flooding into the buzz of his cyberbrain from their mysterious squad leader.

the entire reason this icon exists lol

[megatechbody]

Whoever's controlling the geisha robots ought to be nearby. Don't shoot the power transformer. I'll upload a virus before he can wipe the evidence.

She's counting, trying to get a bead on how 'guns blazing' this is going to be from the surveillance footage they have to work of off. That is until a voice cuts through.

But Major. She tilts her head, almost as if the speaker is in line behind her. What if the robot geishas demand a pay raise?

It is not the time for a goddamn joke. The retort 'If they're anything like you I wouldn't blame them' dies on her lips, choked by the flood of exhaustion, or maybe incredulity she feels as she feels herself cringe. But, as always, Togusa is right on time to pick up her slack - however slight.

[standalonehuman]

Major. A rank? Togusa doesn't have time to think it over before that voice, that guy, cuts in. The one he keeps seeing, he can picture the face in his mind. But he still has no concept of who it is. Somehow, though, he knows he's on friendly terms with the man. And he remembers what to say next.

Knock it off.

An adjustment of the grip on his gun. Right. Focus.

All personnel in position. Standing by.

And then comes the voice. The one that automatically gets Togusa to stand up a little straighter when he hears it, the urge firing under his skin to dig deep and push himself a little harder. Daisuke Aramaki.

"Right. You're on."

With the strength of any military order behind those three simple words, and somehow also communicating his belief in the team.

[megatechbody]

Go!

She's off like a shot, a noise of slight feedback before she enters the very traditional Japanese resort. Confident in the backup she has, her work is done quick. The Geishas have wrapped themselves around the men assembled, but her team is her team for a reason and most are dispatched with a shot to the forehead. As clean as they can give them.

Except for one, that seems to clench and seize as she loses control.

It can't be helped then, that she has to open fire at the geisha, ruining most of the top portion of her head before rushing over and plugging in to send the tracer virus.

[standalonehuman]

The combat portion goes like clockwork. Togusa has seen and re-seen this enough times. Clear the courtyard, hallway, up and through, before he sees them. Three targets, one for each of them. Three shots ring out, and for a second Togusa thinks it's over.

Until the one he shot starts to glitch, instead, tightening her hold on her victim. Hell! Before he can re-aim, it's that third figure, the one that never looks clear, that opens fire again, destroying the robot's head. Togusa de-cloaks, standing there just in the riot-gear armor, and he is ready to offer his apologies, when he instead gasps at what he sees.

For a second, the woman's face is visible, sharp features, purple hair, and red eyes taking in everything. But when Togusa tries to focus on her, what he sees seems to change.

"...Mariko!?"

[megatechbody]

Her brows furrow at the sound of her name, irritated before recognition fires. This isn't right. None of this is right.

"Togusa?"

She looks from him to the rifle in her hands, dropping it as her eyes as her gaze tracks to the ruined skull before her. No, not a skull - people don't have wires in their heads.

"Why am I...?"

Mariko looks to the hallway, the darkness stretching infinitely from where the bodies lay on the floor. The man seems fine, but the woman - thing? The robot, still holds him, drenched in fluid that seeps into the layers of her kimono and makes it stick to what's left of her. It's not blood, it can't be blood; blood is red, it doesn't smell like this. No, not quite like that - there's too much metallic sharpness, the underlying base too clean. Christ, what did she do?

She turns to search for someone else, Togusa is here and he wouldn't have come alone if she was gunning down robots with a fucking assault rifle. So she turns, the cord she used to plug into the geisha, pushing hard into the front of her throat with the pressure.

People don't have wires

"What's going on?"

What If...

[blondferret]

[When Tatsuo mentioned that he proposed to Mariko, Derek was happy for them and told Tatsuo so. Finally his friend was settling down. However, when he asked Tatsuo how he asked Mariko, Tatsuo avoided answering and changed the topic. This was not acceptable. Thus why Derek is at Mariko's door, pack of beer in hand, ready to congratulate the bride to be and find out all the little details. Derek won't openly admit that he's a hopeless romantic and he vicariously lives his love life through Tatsuo and Mariko. But like hell he's going to follow this roller coaster of a relationship and NOT KNOW how the proposal went. Derek raises his hands knocks on Mariko's door.]

[megatechbody]

[After checking the peephole, Mariko flashes an apologetic smile as she waves Derek in with one hand. Even if he hasn't picked up enough Japanese to know that she's talking to her father, the platitude is clear in her tone of her voice.

Finally, goodbyes are said and Mari slumps into the sofa - grinning lightly.]

Hey neighbor. I hope one of those is for me?

[blondferret]

[Derek smiles as he walks in.]

But of course!

[He offers the whole pack of beer to Mariko.]

I just thought I'd come by to give you a gift and congratulate you on getting engaged!

[I never thought that two of you would ever settle down!]

[Derek sits in an arm chair across form Mariko.]

So? How does it feel to be engaged?

[megatechbody]

[Mariko takes the beers, comes back with them in glasses with ice and offers one to Derek easily. (Since when did she drink anything lighter than a cocktail?)]

I appreciate it.

[I'm surprised you're this happy about it considering the noise complaints.]

[Mariko takes a sip from her beer, mostly to hide the fact that she's trying not to laugh. She damn near interrogates people for a living Derek - be a little more subtle.]

A little weird. I thought for sure Tatsuo was sick of me.

[blondferret]

[Derek subtle? PLEASE!]

Tatsuo? Tired of you? You two were in an on and off again relationship for years before you two finally committed to a relationship. And you know why? Because you both could not bear to be away from each other. You're like peanut butter and jelly. Although the two of you could have very well ended up with condiments, it is the classic combination that keeps coming back together because they were meant to be!

[Derek could you be more cheesy?]

[megatechbody]

[Mariko laughs into her beer, sputtering slightly.]

You are so corny. I wish you would have told me you felt so strongly - we could have had a betting pool.

[With a sigh, she looks to her phone and the lock screen of her and Tatsuo. After a little over a decade, she supposed everyone earned a bit of theatrics as far as she and her fiance were concerned.]

I just wish that everyone was as happy as you are about it.

[blondferret]

Yeah, well, I'm a hopeless romantic..

[Derek frowns slightly.]

Who's not happy for you and Tatsuo?

[megatechbody]

[Whoops.]

Dad's just worried. It didn't work out very well the last time I called him with big news.